You've just returned home from the butcher store with a thick-cut, bone-in ribeye steak with a level of marbling that you didn't even think was possible. The weather outside is something to behold. The beer is ice cold. In other words, all that's left to do is set up your charcoal grill and get grilling.

But then reality sets in. If you're anything like me, you inevitably end up spending far too long futzing with that all-natural, lump hardwood charcoal that adds great flavor, but never seems to want to light without a few MacGyver-esque tricks.

Good news: The secret to making this process infinitely easier costs just $15 and weighs about two pounds. Meet the chimney starter.

This simple piece of cylindrical gear is nothing fancy or new, it has been around for years, and it's sure to be the most lo-fi part of your grilling set-up. When I discovered their mystical, charcoal-lighting powers a decade into my amateur grilling career, I vowed to never light a fire without one ever again.

How it Works

Simply grab a few pieces of newspaper or any other flammable paper, crumple them up, and stuff the wadded up paper into the circular wire rack at the bottom. Next, fill the chimney with charcoal and light the newspaper with matches or a grill fluid lighter.

Then you just sit back, relax, and watch the magic happen, as the principles of thermodynamics kick in and slowly distribute heat up through the stack of charcoal. After about 20 minutes, the charcoal will glow with heat and be covered in a thin layer of white ash—that's how you know they're ready to dump into the base of your kettle grill.